The panic in New Orleans over the Saints’ 0-2 start is legitimate, because the end of the line could be in sight for Sean Payton depending on Drew Brees’ sudden health situation.

Conflicting reports Monday afternoon said Brees has an unspecified injury to his passing arm or shoulder, with the NFL Network stating he could miss “several games” before ESPN said Brees’ playing status depends on how well he responds to treatment.

It’s just the latest difficulty in a season that already looks lost. After Sunday’s embarrassing 26-19 loss to Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers, the Saints have dropped six consecutive games at the Superdome for the first time since 1980.

The Saints finished 1-15 that year, which was the depths of the franchise’s dark ages. Unfortunately for Payton, this year’s edition is starting to look like a bottom-feeder worthy of resurrecting the “Aints” tag that angry fans used to splash across paper bags on their heads.

Saints defensive coordinator Rob RyanUPI

The Saints’ biggest problem through two games has been the defense. Rob Ryan is firmly on the hot seat thanks to a unit that has allowed 760 yards and 57 points in just two games. That’s only marginally better than last year, when New Orleans finished next-to-last in the league in total defense.

But Brees is the larger concern. He led the NFL in passing yards three of the previous four seasons and is piling them up again this year, but his accuracy has dropped and he can’t seem to find the end zone.

Brees has thrown just two touchdowns (with an equal amount of interceptions) in the first two games combined, which is a shockingly slow pace for someone who tossed 33 and 39 TDs the past two years.

Not only that, but Brees’ rating is just 82.0, far below his career mark of 95.3 and a territory he hasn’t been in over a full season since 2003 — when Brees went 2-9 with a 67.5 rating for the Chargers.

Now it appears an arm problem might be the root cause. At least the Saints have hope Brees’ performance will improve when his health does. But they need that to happen quickly, because the NFC South looks much improved.

Saints owner Tom Benson, who is 88, just survived a nasty legal fight with his family over his competency to own the team. The Saints look poised to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year, so it will be interesting to see how much patience Benson (or his wife, Gayle) have for what looks a major rebuilding job.